Grounded
by taylorcatherine
Summary: Mark Watney has been home for six months. After all that time, he has a chance encounter with Mindy Park, and the two slowly become friends. Or is it something more? Who the hell knows. Mark and Mindy. Rated T for the time-being.
1. Chapter 1

Annie Montrose lived, breathed, and slept stressed. How could she not? She was the PR Director of NASA, one of the largest government funded programs in the country. She managed every possible scandal that could be thrown their way and never batted any eye. Even when the botanist on the Ares III mission was left behind on a desolate planet, she handled the public. And now her biggest issue was dealing with one Mark Watney.

The Ares III crew had landed back on Earth nearly six months ago, and they spent the majority of the first month back in quarantine, healing and being checked to make sure that their extended stay in space wasn't going to have lasting effects on their bodies, especially Watney. After they were cleared, Annie's job had been to organize a press conference, with the crew present to answer questions related to the rescue of their crewmate. And that had gone well, Mark had been well received and behaved himself, no swearing or, severely, inappropriate jokes. When all had been said and done, Mark was given time off to spend with his family and reconnect with society.

Now, back in the present, Annie was ready to strangle him. He had been doing so well, _so well._ He was meeting with the psychologist twice a week, going to every press conference she scheduled, and was on several talk shows without a single incident. She was actually starting to feel a bit relaxed, like this would be easy and she wouldn't need to worry too much about the public's reaction to the current Mark Watney, who hasn't been around hardly any people in over two and a half years. But no, he had to make her life a living hell with his most recent endeavors. Despite his return six months prior, he was still in the spotlight, which meant he had to keep behaving _well_ and not do anything stupid. An example of something stupid, such as…going out drinking with old college buddies, becoming so intoxicated to the point of throwing up in front of the bar, and leaving with an EXTREMELY questionable woman. Was he out of his goddamn _mind_?!

Annie paced the conference room, phone in hand, arms crossed, waiting for the culprit of her recent irritation to walk in the room. Director Teddy Sanders sat in a chair with his hands full of papers, reviewing the incident that was on the cover of too many newspapers.

"Annie, sit down. Pacing isn't going to help your stress levels." She paused mid-step, turning towards Teddy. She put her hands on her hips, looking at him in question.

"Are you SURE I can't punch him in the face?"

"Yes."

"What if I just break his nose a little?" Teddy released a deep sigh and rubbed his forehead, he understood her anger, but violence wouldn't get them anywhere. He was about to respond when there was a knock at the door, before Vincent Kapoor peaked his head in the room.

"We're all here, ready for him?" Annie was more than ready. She might be a seething pit of rage, but she was ready. Annie Montrose always is. Teddy told him to come inside, and Vincent opened the door to it's full width, revealing a sheepish looking Mark Watney, followed by his psychiatrist, Dr. Peg Allen. They all walked into the room and sat around the long conference table, with Annie being the only one left standing, but she couldn't sit down right now. She took a deep breath before speaking, addressing everyone in the room.

"Let's get started. It's fairly obvious why we're all here, seeing as Mr. Watney thought it would be a fantastic idea to look like an obnoxious college kid and have it become the cover of every national news site in the country."

"Hey! I was bored, and I haven't seen any of those guys in literal YEARS, so sue me, for wanting to have a night where I could have fun." The glare Annie gave Mark made him shut his mouth.

"Mark, right now you are the face of NASA. It doesn't matter if you don't like it or if you're bored, that's how it's going to be until the next 'big thing' in the country takes you out of the spotlight. But until that happens, my job is to make sure you represent us in a positive light, which you did not do in the least, by the way." Mark looked around the room for help, but everybody was simply waiting for his reaction. He threw his hands up in exasperation.

"Oh come on, seriously? I've been good! I went to every conference, every talk show, I meet with Doctor Allen, and I've been living with my parents because my apartment got sold since everybody thought I was, you know, _dead._ Forgive me for trying to live again, _Mom_." He leaned back in his chair, arms over his face, the tension and exhaustion evident in his body language. He had been through hell, and now that he was home they expected him to be a perfect person? Not fucking likely. It was his life, damn it! He lost over two years up in space, was he not allowed to try and make up for lost time?

Annie looked at him, feeling a majority of the anger leave her. Everybody in the room was quiet. Teddy was the first one to speak after the extensive silence.

"Annie, how soon can this be dealt with?" She thought to herself for a minute, forming some semblance of a plan.

"Uh…press conference, tomorrow at five PM, central-standard time. It was already scheduled for discussions about the Ares V Mission, but we can reschedule that for Friday afternoon." Mark moved his arms off his face and watched her speak, "We're also holding a banquet at the end of the month for all the staff in helping bring Mark home, as a way of saying thank you. We can have Mark make a speech, thanking everybody involved."

"Prewritten, of course." Annie nodded her affirmative.

"Yes sir." Mark glared at them, he was so sick of all of this. He just wanted to move on with his life. Before he could add his two cents, Vincent spoke up.

"Is all this really necessary? I mean, so he went out drinking and had a few too many, he's not the first person to do this, sure as shit won't be the last." Annie was getting a migraine.

"It is necessary if we want to keep the program funded, you of all people should know this, Vince. Mark needs to stay on the public's good side, for all our sakes." Mark stood up, hands on the table in front of him.

"This is ridiculous! You," he gestured towards Annie and Teddy, "have no power over me, so why the hell are you making my decisions for me?" Annie gave him a steady look, finally sitting down in a chair directly across from Mark.

"You sure about that? Listen to me, Watney, and listen well," she folded her hands in front of her, "I don't care if you want to drink until you die of alcohol poisoning, it's your life. But right now? Every decision you make and everything you do is being watched by the entire world. You said you wanted all the memorabilia to be about you, remember? Well, you pretty much got your wish. If you want this all to go away as quickly as possible so you can have your life back and be as close to a normal human being as you can, you need to do what I tell you. It's been six months since you got home, after this big final 'thank you' party, the world will, hopefully, start moving on and towards another goal. But you have to listen to me, to all of us in this room. We only want what's best for you and for NASA." Mark visibly deflated, but he knew she was right. If he could get through the next couple of weeks, he'd be done with all the conferences and everything. He gave a small nod in understanding.

"But what about after all this? What about my job? Because honestly, I've had enough space for this lifetime." Annie didn't have an answer, that wasn't her department. She glanced at Teddy and Vincent, hoping one of them had something in mind. It was Vincent who spoke first.

"Actually, Mark…Director Sanders and I have been discussing the possibility of you becoming a survival instructor for the Astronaut Candidate Program. We feel after your experience, you have the best knowledge of what you should and shouldn't do in the event of an incident such as yours." Mark interest piqued, this was something he hadn't heard about.

"Whose idea was this?" Vincent gestured next to him.

"It was Doctor Allen's idea. She felt that everything you've been through should be put to use. And right now, I think she might know the best course of action for you, professionally and mentally, if you don't mind my saying so." Mark looked at Dr. Allen, giving her a silent thank you, and she returned it with a small smile and discreet nod of her head. The woman was practically a saint. Everything Mark had been through, she helped him cope and learn how to handle any possible PTSD triggers, because despite his constant positivity, he almost died on a planet, _alone_. He was bound to have some mental issues.

Back to the current meeting, Annie spoke up again. "I think that's an amazing plan. It's a great opportunity Mark, I hope you'll seriously consider it," Mark agreed that he would, "So then you now have a press conference tomorrow evening, and then the banquet in a few weeks. In the meantime, I think I speak for everybody present when I say to please stay out of trouble the next few weeks, and to try and relax for at least a couple weeks after this, just so it can blow over. Any objections?" Everybody shook their heads, which made Annie breathe a bit easier.

"Alright then, I'll see you tomorrow Mark. If you will all excuse me, I have speeches to write. I'll be in my office until nine PM if anybody needs me." Annie nodded her head and left the conference room, the door closing with a soft click behind her. The director was the next one up on his feet, with Mark, Vincent, and Dr. Allen following suit.

"You're free to leave, Mark. Please stay out of trouble." Mark shook Teddy's hand, before walking out the door and waving goodbye to Vincent and Dr. Allen. He stretched his arms above his head, feeling his back crack with a satisfying pop, walking down the hall.

He'd been walking for a couple minutes, turning every now and then when he realized he had no idea where the hell he was.

 _Well, shit._


	2. Chapter 2

Graveyard shift was forever Mindy Park's favorite time to work in SatCom's. She loved being one of the few people working, it was nice and quiet and she could stay focused on the satellites without anybody distracting her. It's not that she hated people or her job, she just had had her fill of all things stress-related after having to track everything Mark Watney did for over two years. And since it had been six months since his return home, her job had gotten a lot more relaxed. Director Sanders had offered her a promotion for her work, but Mindy had insisted on staying where she was before this had all started, although she did accept the pay raise and option of choosing her shifts that worked best for her.

She had just filled her coffee cup and sat back down at her desk when her computer screen dinged, indicating a new email. Opening the message, she recognized Vincent Kapoor's email address right away, having worked with him over the whole get-Mark-Watney-home thing. Reading his email, she let out a sigh. He needed new print-outs of the Morse code logs from when Watney was still on Mars. Didn't she already give him copies? Deciding not to question it, she sent the prints to the large printer along the side of the room, walking over and grabbing the copies of the logs.

"Bob, I'll be right back, I'm just gonna run some papers to Mr. Kapoor." Bob, one of the other graveyard techs, waved her away, focused on the task in front of him. She grabbed her key card and a manila folder to hold the copies, and started the trek to Kapoor's office. She was halfway there, her eyes to the ground as she walked, when she crashed right into somebody, her folder falling and spilling the contents all over the floor. She immediately dropped to the ground and started picking them up before a voice spoke to her.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Mindy saw the person, a man, kneel down out of the corner of her eye and start picking up the papers. She shook her head, grabbing the papers from his hand.

"No, it's my fault, I was in my own world, I should have been watching where I walked." The man didn't reply, only continued to hand her the papers, one at a time. "Um, you don't need to help me. Technically these files are sorta classified, for higher-ups only…" She finally looked up and froze midsentence.

Mark-fucking-Watney was kneeled down beside her, handing her the papers. He gave her a sideways smile.

"Well, I know all about higher-ups, trust me. I'm Mark by the way." He held his hand out to her, and she shook it, a bit shocked. She hadn't actually met him in person yet, despite the amount of communication they'd had. And he had no idea who she was. "What's your name?"

"Uh, Mindy. I'm Mindy, I work in SatCom." She watched Mark stand up and offer his hand to pull her up, she took it slowly.

"Well, Mindy from SatCom, it's nice to meet you." Her heart thudded in her chest at his pleasant smile.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Watney." He made a face at that, feeling older than he should.

"Please, just Mark. I'm not old enough to be Mr. Watney. My father, on the other hand, is definitely old enough!" Mindy gave a small laugh, he really was funny in real life. Mark grinned at her, she had a pleasant laugh, he almost found himself missing it when she grew silent again. "Actually, you may be able to help me out. I kinda got myself lost, and if I could find my way back to Vincent Kapoor's office, then I'd be able to find my way out of the building and back to my car, which would be awesome." Mindy offered him a small smile.

"I'm actually headed to Mr. Kapoor's office now to drop these off, you can follow me there if you'd like?" She didn't know it was possible, but his smile grew even wider.

"I'd love that, thank you so much. It's been years since I've been in this building, and I gotta tell ya, I could barely navigate it back then." Mindy felt herself laughing again.

"Don't worry about it, you'll remember eventually. If not, you'll just have to draw yourself a map!" Mark barked out a loud laugh at her response. _So, she has a sense of humor_ , he thought to himself with a grin. Mindy felt herself blush and grow shy from his laughter, it wasn't _that_ funny. Once he calmed himself down, he offered an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I've only been back around people for a little while, trying to get in as many laughs as I possibly can." Mindy felt herself turn sympathetic, and apparently it showed because Mark was immediately brushing it off. "No, don't feel bad or anything! Honestly, I'm not as bothered by everything as people seem to think. In actuality, I'm more annoyed at how everybody is treating me like I'm some broken man." She nodded along as he spoke, their synced steps echoing off the linoleum as they walked, "I mean sure, it sucked major dick being stuck on a desolate planet, and I have some issues, but shit, doesn't everybody?"

She couldn't hold back the snort, she completely agreed with him. Everybody had issues, herself included, it was just part of human nature, and Mindy found herself telling him as much. Mark couldn't stop the smile forming on his face. He liked this girl, she was fantastic company. Their conversation continued at a comfortable pace, and all too soon they'd arrived at Kapoor's office, standing outside of the door. Mindy knocked twice, waiting to hear a 'come in', then opened the door wide enough for her and Mark to enter the room. Vincent looked up in surprise to see them both, having been under the assumption that Mark had gone home.

"Mark, this is a surprise. I thought you'd already left for the day. Did you need anything?" Mindy was silent while he spoke, handing Vincent the file he'd requested and then standing off to the side, letting them talk.

"Ah-I uh, I got lost, and Mindy here helped me back to you. Thanks a lot, by the way." She smiled at him, before excusing herself quietly.

"Just a second, Miss Park. I have a couple things for you to look up on the satellites." Vincent stood from his desk and reached into one of the drawers of a tall filing cabinet against the wall. She paused, waiting patiently. "Actually, I'm glad you're both here. I've been meaning to invite Miss Park to the banquet." Now it was Mark's turn to grow silent. He hadn't been expecting this. Mindy had played a role in his rescue? That made him curious.

Mindy was instantly uncomfortable, shifting from foot to foot. Damn Kapoor and his shit timing! He had to ask her this in front of Mark Watney? He KNEW she didn't want anything to do with the banquet, he'd already asked her the day prior, but he knew if he put her on the spot she'd probably cave.

"I'm uh…already busy that weekend, so I really can't. I'm fairly certain I already _told_ you this Mr. Kapoor." She was glaring daggers at him, but Vincent didn't flinch under her gaze.

"Oh, come now, Mindy! You played a major role in rescuing Watney, you should be present and you know this." Mark was shocked, she'd had a part in getting him home?

"Hold up, Vince." Mark put his hand up, interrupting the conversation, "What did she have to do with me on Mars?" Mindy's face was getting hotter by the second, she was going to _kill_ Kapoor! And Vincent, being the ass that he was, happily told Mark just what _exactly_ Mindy had done.

"You mean you don't know?" Mark shook his head no, obviously clueless as to what had transpired, "Mark, she's the one who found out you were alive on Mars and that you weren't killed on Sol eighteen." His eyes grew wide, and he looked back at Mindy, who had her head down, clearly avoiding all eye contact with him.

"And," Vincent continued, "she was watching every move you made. When you slept, she slept. And she also was the one who you spent the majority of your time talking to. Quite frankly, I think she put more hours in than almost everybody else, with the exception of Bruce and his team, who built the probe." Mark's shock only grew, he was completely stunned. Mindy was the one who found him? Not only that, she was the one he'd spent the most time talking to. And here he thought it had been Kapoor the whole time.

"What about the Morse code? Because that was a bitch to learn, even for me. Did she…?" Mark trailed off, gesturing to the girl who was two steps behind him, who was greatly wishing the floor would just open up and swallow her whole. Vincent nodded his confirmation, and Mark couldn't even form a sentence, so instead Vincent responded.

"When Mindy found you, Director Sanders granted her total satellite and Orbital trajectory control to track everything you did. And after we established contact with you through Pathfinder, she was given the task of getting your logs from you and checking up on you. Then, when we lost Pathfinder, she watched you constantly, she didn't want to miss a single thing. So, when the Morse Code started appearing, we gave her some text books to help her decode the messages. I've never seen one person consume so much caffeine in my life." Mindy was now wishing Kapoor would just stop talking. Why did this need to be known?! She was pulled from her thoughts when Mark turned to stand in front of her, looking at her in awe. She slowly met his eyes, her face cherry red.

"And I'm guessing you were just planning to keep this to yourself and leave me in the dark?" She didn't know what to say to him, he was right, she hadn't planned on him finding out. And even if he had, she wasn't expecting to be _in the same room when it happened_.

"Don't be too upset with her, I've never met a person humbler than Mindy Park." She heard Kapoor add in, hoping to diffuse some of the tension in the room.

"I'm not mad," Mark began, "I'm just…stunned. The person who I owe my life to is standing right in front of me, and I wouldn't have even known it, if you hadn't said anything." Mindy dropped her gaze again, this was getting ridiculous. All she did was her job, there's nothing more to it than that.

"Mr. Kapoor, I'll be going now, because I have a break in an hour and so far, all I've accomplished is handing you a file. Now, if you'll both excuse me." She made a break for it, grabbing the extra files from Kapoor's hand, then turning for the door. Before she could run back the way she came, she felt a strong hand clamp down on her shoulder and spin her back around. Her eyes followed the hand on her shoulder to it's owner, Mark's piercing blue eyes staring back at her.

"Just wait a minute, please?" She was lost in the depths of his gaze, and found herself sighing, planting her feet firmly in place and looking at the tiled floor again. When Mark no longer thought she'd try to run, he let her go. He thought to himself for a moment before speaking.

"Thank you." Mindy's gaze shot back up, staring at him in question, "You saved my life. And I know you don't think so, and you probably never will, but regardless of that, you did. And for that, I owe you. Thank you so fucking much." She released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, when he suddenly put his arms around her in one of the warmest hugs she's ever received. God, he was so _warm_. She found herself slowly returning the hug, which seemed to last forever. It wasn't until they heard Vincent clear his throat that they let go of each other.

"Sorry, Vince. Got a little emotional for a minute there, huh?" He was looking at her with that lopsided grin, and her heart thudded again. She was just realizing how handsome he was up close. Short, dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes with a dimple in his chin, Mark Watney was insanely attractive, almost at unfair standards. She was pulled from her stupor by his voice.

"Well, I'm heading out, it's after ten and I have a press conference tomorrow that I, unfortunately, have to prepare for. Vince, always good to see you. Mindy, I'll see you around, I hope?" He smiled at her, and she felt herself giving him a small nod in agreement. With that being said, Mark headed towards the door, waving farewell and walking out, surprisingly knowing his way to the lobby.

When he was gone, Vincent released a small chuckle, and Mindy turned to glare at him, and he met her gaze with a raised eyebrow.

"Why are you glaring at me?"

"I'm hoping you'll spontaneously combust." Kapoor let out a roar of laughter, shaking his head and telling Mindy she was free to go, reminding her that he'd see her at the banquet. She released a loud sigh when she was back in the hallway, slowly making her way back to Mission Control, secretly hoping the rest of her shift was boring as hell.

Lucky for her, that's exactly how it turned out.


	3. Chapter 3

Two days after the press conference, Mark found himself sitting on the couch in Dr. Allen's office, awaiting her arrival for their scheduled appointment. He had only been seated for a few minutes when Peg walked in the room, giving him an apologetic glance, her hands full of files.

"Sorry for the wait, Mark. There was an incident in the copier room, so I'm going to have to stay late and sort all these files and reorganize them."

"No problem, is there anything I can do to help?"

Peg pushed up the glasses resting on the bridge of her nose, grabbing her pad of paper and pen before sitting in her normal chair across from Mark. "You can help by telling me how you've been the last couple of days. We haven't been able to touch base since before the meeting on Tuesday."

He rubbed the back of his neck, giving a shrug. "I'm fine, I guess. The conference was a pain in the ass, but it got Annie off my back, which is nice." She nodded while taking notes, looking up at him expectantly. "I haven't had any triggers or anything since that first month back, don't worry."

"What about the nightmares?" She crossed her hands and leaned back in her chair. "I know you were having a lot of trouble sleeping, not only because you were still on Mars time." He let out a heavy sigh.

"They've been getting better too, believe it or not. I mean, they still happen, obviously…" He rested his chin on the palm of his hand. "…but lately, they haven't been as frequent. Not that I'm complaining, just not sure why they're suddenly more…tame?"

That got Peg's attention. This was actual progress, and it was _good_ progress. If the nightmares were calming down, it meant that he was healing even more. She gave him a warm smile before speaking.

"That's great news, Mark, I'm glad to hear that they're not as bad." She leaned forward, resting her arms on her crossed legs. "Usually, in cases where somebody has experienced a trauma and suffers from nightmares as a result, one of the things we look for is anything that may have changed in the patient's daily life. Maybe something positive happened that triggered a chain reaction of good moments for them, or they made a lifestyle change as a welcome distraction, things like that." Mark looked at Peg, understanding dawned on his face, and she could tell something must have happened. "Did something happen recently? Something _good_?"

He coughed to clear his throat, feeling a little awkward all of a sudden. "I-uh…I actually did meet someone."

"Well that's wonderful! Tell me about them."

"Her name is Mindy, she works for NASA in SatCom."

"Tell me more, how did you meet her?"

"Well, I crashed into her in the hall right after the meeting on Tuesday." Mark smiled to himself at the memory, and Peg started jotting down more notes. "I apologized, she said it was her fault, and then I introduced myself. We talked, and she helped me find my way back to Kapoor's office." She was curious to know more.

"And? What made her so significant?"

"Vince told me that Mindy was the one who realized I didn't die on Mars." Peg's eye grew wide, and Mark became more expressive. "I know, right?! That was my reaction, too! Anyways, he told me about everything she had done, tracking me, adjusting her schedule to match mine on Mars, reading all the messages in Morse code."

"That's certainly something significant." He snorted in agreement.

"Exactly! And I just stood there in shock, because this person, that I owed my life to, was going to try and play it off as if it were no big deal." Peg became thoughtful for a moment.

"Well maybe she felt as if she were just doing her job, and thought that anybody would've done the same thing in her position."

"That's pretty much how she played it off." He agreed, "And maybe somebody else would've, but the point is that it was her who did all of those things. She didn't have to be the one to do it, all by herself. There's plenty of people employed in her department that could've taken over for her, but she still did it herself. And that means a lot to me."

"Do you think maybe you feel indebted to her?" He looked at her like that should've been obvious.

"Obviously I feel indebted to her! But that's not all…" he released a breath, running a hand through his hair and rubbing his neck again, like he did when he was uncertain. "…I actually liked her a lot. Before I found out who she was and what she did, we talked a little bit, and I found myself actually enjoying her company. Which, if you can recall, has been hard for me to do if it wasn't my parents or somebody from the crew." She nodded along, writing down more notes. This has been one of their best sessions yet, and she had a good feeling about this woman, Mindy.

"Well, I think this is definitely a good thing, Mark. I think you should be friends with her, not because of what she did, but because you enjoyed being around her. I think that's a pretty important thing for you, in light of recent events." He gave an embarrassed laugh, prompting her to continue. "If you like her, then I say go for it. Don't let the past have such a vice grip on your future. You're home now, remember? You're not fighting for your life anymore. Being happy, enjoying somebody else's presence, and appreciating moments like these…you've earned those things, Mark. More so than a lot of people." He was quiet for a moment, letting her words soak in.

"I'm just scared that she won't know how to act around me." When Peg gave him a confused look, he explained, "I'm worried, because of what I went through, that she'll tiptoe around me, like she's worried something might set me off and bring back bad memories, and the worst part…" he dropped his head, unable to make eye contact with her, "the worst part is that I'm afraid I actually might have a meltdown, or wind up having an unknown PTSD trigger that'll make her scared of me or something, I dunno." He gave up trying to explain, leaning back on the sofa with a huff. Peg watched him, could tell he was genuinely worried about something he felt he couldn't control. She made a few quick notes, trying to find the best words to give him some sense of security.

"These are legitimate concerns, and I'm glad you told me. Mark," she said, drawing his attention back to her, "here is my advice to you, so remember this when you start to worry again, alright?" He nodded, acknowledging what she was saying, and she gave him a comforting smile before continuing. "Sometimes, memories are the worst form of torture." At his evident confusion, she began to elaborate, "You went through something traumatic, that's obvious. And because of that, you're going to need a lot of time to heal, and that's perfectly normal. You just need to realize that those memories shouldn't control you, or your life. I think, one of the best things you could do for yourself right now, is to make new memories, positive ones." Understanding began to dawn on his features. "This girl you mentioned, Mindy, I believe she is one of your new memories, a good one. And that positivity outweighs the negative more than you'd realize. So, I suggest you keep enjoying her company, maybe even ask her out on a date, if you think you could handle it, but don't stress yourself out over a bad situation that has a slim chance of happening. And even if it did, you can't control that. The best you can do is learn to cope and take your time to heal, don't push things. You should know better than anybody, that to live your life you have to take risks." Mark gave her a grateful smile, hearing every word and locking it in his mind.

"Thanks, doc. I think that was something I needed to hear."

She gave him a warm smile. "I'm glad. But unfortunately," she glanced down at her watch, "we are all out of time for today. But this was some really great progress, Mark. Keep up the good work, I'm proud of how far you've come along in such a short time."

"You and me, both!" Peg moved to stand up, Mark following her lead, as she walked him to the door of her office.

"I'll see you next week, then. Call me before then if anything comes up or if you ever need to talk." He shook her hand, clearly feeling better than he had.

"I will, thanks again, Doctor Allen. See you next week!" She waved to him as he walked down the hall and out of the building, before turning back into her office and closing the door with a soft click. Peg Allen had never been more impressed with a patient, like she was with Mark Watney, his rapid improvement was monumental, and she was grateful that he seemed to take her advice to heart. If only all her patients were that easy to work with. Walking back to her desk, she turned on her computer to begin typing her daily patient report.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a week since Mindy first met Mark Watney in person, and she couldn't seem to get him out of her mind. It probably didn't help that for two-plus years, her entire life revolved around watching his every move on a whole other planet. Needless to say, she was having some difficulty focusing at work, two hours into her night shift and a few minutes before her first break. She was currently trying to study some imagery from Olympus Mons, when she decidedly gave up and went for her break early. Standing up, she stretched her arms high above her head, trying to crack her back but having little success. She picked up the empty coffee mug and headed to the breakroom, stopping by Bob's desk before she left.

"Hey, I'm making a coffee run, did you want a refill while I'm up?" Bob looked up at her from his work, nodding gratefully while handing her his mug.

"Thanks, Mindy." She smiled, before turning towards the door and walking down the short hallway to the Mission Control breakroom and coffee pot. When she got there, she realized the pot was empty and groaned in irritation. Quickly filling the pot with water, Mindy replaced the old grounds and started it back up again, intent on a cup of coffee even if she had to wait the duration of her break to get it. She thought to herself while she played on her phone, wondering the last time was that she'd called her Mom. Before she could overthink it and chicken out, she hit the speed dial and listened to it ring.

Her mother answered in a few seconds, her voice sounding a bit tired.

"Hello?"

"Hi Mom, it's just me."

"Mindy! Sweetheart, how are you? I haven't heard from you in weeks!" Mindy rolled her eyes a little before responding.

"I'm fine, on break at the moment, I was having some trouble focusing on work, thought I'd call. How's Dad?" She heard her Mother snort on the other end of the line.

"He's fine, still complaining about the Royals' losing the game the other night. Why are you having trouble focusing? You're working too much again, aren't you?" Mindy chuckled, her Mother worried about all the little things.

"It's not a big deal, I'm just a little tired tonight, that's all. I'll be done before I know it, and then I can go home and snuggle up with Zeus." Zeus was her flame-tipped Himalayan cat, who, she was certain, was currently fast asleep on her bed at home. Lucky bastard.

"Oh, sweet little Zeus! Sweetie, when are you coming home to visit? You haven't been back in months. I miss my baby girl, and I know your Father would love to see you." Mindy sighed, trying not to feel guilty.

"I'm sorry Mom, but I've been super busy with work. I'll try to take a few days off in a couple weeks to come and visit you guys, I promise." Now it was her Mother's turn to sigh. Mindy felt bad, really and truly, but her job took up a lot of her schedule.

"Alright dear, I understand. Just as long as you don't forget about your dear old Mom!"

"I won't Mom, promise. Love you."

"Love you too!" Her Mom ended the call first, and Mindy took a deep breath and sighed. She really should go home to visit, she missed her parents, and she could use the time off work to relax and maybe reset herself a little. She shot off a text to her Mom, having made a decision.

 **Mindy 11:08 PM**

 **Free next weekend? Could pack up the car and Zeus, come stay a couple days.**

She was just filling up the two mugs in front of her when her phone buzzed in her pocket. Checking the message, she smiled to herself.

 ** _Mom 11:12 PM_**

 ** _Of course, always time for my baby girl! Xoxo_**

Mindy rolled her eyes, but couldn't suppress her smile, her Mom was a goof sometimes. Picking up the two hot mugs of coffee, she began her trek back to the Mission Control, stopping at Bob's desk first to return his mug, to which he thanked her again, then heading towards her own computer and plopping back down in her chair. Finally feeling like she could focus, she began going through her emails and sending data out, like she used to do before she became Mark's personal space paparazzi. She was so focused, in fact, that she had worked for four hours, only taking a break when Bob yelled a 'goodnight' to her, having worked way past his shift. Letting out a yawn, Mindy glanced at the time, seeing that it was almost 3:30 in the morning. She stood up and headed back to the breakroom, needing more coffee and something to eat, a container of Easy Mac calling her name.

In the few minutes she had been gone, her computer had received a new email, and she noticed this as soon as she got back to her chair, sitting down and gazing at the unfamiliar email address, but her heart stopped in her chest when she recognized the last name. She hesitated for a moment before opening the email, and checking over her shoulders to make sure nobody else could read it but her.

FROM: mwatney

TO: mpark

SUBJECT: Found you!

 ** _Hiya! Remember me? Sorry if this is strange, I had to interrogate Kapoor to get your work email. He was being so difficult! I really enjoyed talking with you last week, you being my guardian angel aside, and I was hoping we could grab dinner some time? My treat, I think I owe you a meal since you, ya know, saved my life!_**

 ** _And don't even argue about it. You're one of the biggest reasons I'm here today, and I'm eternally grateful._**

 ** _Friends?_**

 ** _-Watney_**

She was chuckling to herself by the time she finished reading his email, and she decided not to wait around to respond, hitting 'reply' right away.

FROM: mpark

TO: mwatney

SUBJECT: Re: Found you!

 **I see the role of stalker has been reversed! But I enjoyed talking with you too, although I feel like I've known you for years, which is probably a little creepy…**

 **Anyway! Dinner sounds nice, but you don't need to pay for me.**

 **Friends.**

 **-Mindy**

 **PS-Shouldn't you be asleep? Most sane people aren't awake at this hour.**

Hitting 'send', Mindy leaned back in her chair, hoping for a response soon. Although she knew she shouldn't let him distract her, she got back to work checking the satellites and sending out information and coordinates to whoever was the next in her line of requests. She'd been working diligently for another two hours when her email chimed again. She'd already forgotten about the email from Mark, so needless to say she was surprised when she realized he'd actually responded.

FROM: mwatney

TO: mpark

SUBJECT: Re: Re: Found you!

 ** _In case you haven't realized, I'm not exactly sane. I'm still on Mars time…sucks to try and adjust back to a schedule that you weren't living on for two years._**

 ** _Also, in all technicalities you HAVE known me for years, I just didn't know it! …Okay, that actually made it sound creepier. I swear I don't think it's creepy at all!_**

 ** _Are you still working? It's almost 6:00 in the morning, isn't graveyard shift usually over by now?_**

 ** _-Watney_**

FROM: mpark

TO: mwatney

SUBJECT: Re: Re: Re: Found you!

 **You and me both…about the Mars time, I mean. It's why I prefer working graveyard shifts. And I wanted to stay a little longer today, had some work piling up that I've been meaning to finish. I'll probably leave in another hour, before a lot of people start arriving for the day shifts.**

 **I'm just gonna trust that you don't think it's creepy that I was space-stalking you.**

 **-Mindy**

Stifling a yawn, she closed her email and finished the last few reports on her desk, then downed the last of her coffee. She stood up and made another trip to the breakroom so she could clean out her mug before she got ready to leave. When she finished with that, she stopped by the restroom on her way back to Mission Control.

Mindy had been in her own little world, like usual when she's walking around at work, so imagine her surprise when she walked into Mission Control and saw somebody sitting at her desk. And not just anybody.

Mark-fucking-Watney.

 _What the…?_

As if he could feel her gaze on him, he looked up and saw her, the smile instantaneous on his face. He reached up a hand waving at her. Frozen in place, she slowly waved back, shocked at his sudden presence. She made her way over to him, releasing a breath.

"What are you doing here?"

Mark grinned at her. "You hungry?"

Just as she was about to say she wasn't, her stomach had other ideas and let a loud grumble, reminding her it had been a few hours since her Easy Mac. His grin only widened, and her face turned an intense shade of red.

"I'll take that as a yes." He responded with a laugh. "Wanna go get breakfast?"

Mindy gave him a scrutinizing look, debating the offer in her head. Sensing her hesitation, he made an offer.

"I promise I won't pay for you." That got a laugh out of her, and she found herself agreeing.

"Okay." He stood up, letting her have her chair back so she could finish cleaning up her station. And when she finished, she grabbed her bag and they left the building, heading to the parking lot.

Any other morning, Mindy could care less about the sunrise. But this morning, there was just something about it that made her heart thump at its beauty.


	5. Chapter 5: Intermission

**-INTERMISSION-**

Vincent Kapoor sat in Director Teddy Sanders' office, the aforementioned standing in front of the window, gazing down at the paved lots below. They were currently awaiting the arrival of Mark's psychiatrist, Dr. Allen. Making small talk to pass the time, they were interrupted when a soft knock echoed in the room.

"Come in."

Peg opened the door and walked inside, saying hello to both of the men. Teddy gestured to the chair beside Vincent, offering for her to sit down, which she gladly did.

"Thank you for coming, Peg. I know how hectic your schedule can be." She smiled at Teddy, waving him off.

"Not nearly as busy as the Director of NASA's schedule, I'm sure." Vincent chuckled in response, even Teddy quirked a smile.

"Let's just get straight to it then," he began, getting their attention, "how is he?" The smile he got made him feel some relief, even though she hadn't spoken yet.

"Mark's progress is almost a little intimidating. He's functioning well, he hasn't had any PTSD triggers for months, his nightmares are becoming less frequent…" She trailed off, debating what she should and shouldn't tell them, patient confidentiality considered, "I think he's starting to find new ways to move past his experience on Mars. I'm bound by doctor-patient confidentiality, so I can't go into very much detail…but I will say this; Mark Watney is one of the easiest patients I've ever worked with, all things considered."

Vincent chimed in, asking "So do you think the job offer with ACP will be good for him? Mentally, I mean."

"I do."

"How many more sessions do you think he needs to go through before he finishes his recovery?"

Peg thought for a moment, "That's difficult to say. Most cases of therapy, while the patient has recovered, the sessions continue on a semiregular basis, just to touch base and discuss anything on the patient's mind. I believe, in Mark Watney's case, that when he feels more secure facing everyday society like before he went to Mars, then he will no longer need my assistance. However," she paused, emphasizing the word, "if, for whatever reason, he feels he still needs my help, my door will remain open and he will have my contact information in the event of an emergency."

Teddy nodded, finding this acceptable. "Peg, you have been a blessing in this situation, the Administration owes a lot to you." Vincent was inclined to agree with him, Dr. Allen was one of the best in her field, in all of Houston, even. The fact that Mark was in such good physical and mental health barely seven months after his return was almost a miracle. They'd honestly been expecting him to be much worse, despite having the entire trip home to recover with his crewmates.

"I'm simply doing what my job entails, Teddy, nothing more than that. Your praise is appreciated, but unnecessary." Vincent smiled, she was almost as humble as Mindy Park, although he kept this thought to himself.

"Regardless, we thank you for your hard work. Is there anything else involving Mark we should be aware of?" When Peg declined, stating that no, there was not, Teddy thanked her for her time, allowing her the chance to leave. She stood up, shaking both men's hands and bidding them farewell, leaving the room at a calm pace.

When she was gone, Vincent turned to Teddy. "I think we have a new class to install into the program." And he agreed with him, so they got back to work.


	6. Chapter 6

"Thanks again for coming with me, man."

Christopher Beck looked at Mark with a smirk. "Of course, we all know you have shitty standards for apartments." Mark snorted, not inclined to argue with him because, shit, he wasn't wrong!

The day after his session with Dr. Allen, Mark had called the only other doctor he knew, requesting his assistance in shopping for his new apartment. He was tired of living in hotels, or having to fly back to Chicago to stay at his childhood home. Don't get confused, Mark Watney loved his parents more than anything, but he felt like he was in high school again and damn it, he was almost forty years old!

Which brings us back to the present. It was three in the afternoon, and they had been looking at apartments for the last four hours, almost on the verge of giving up, but then Beth sent Chris a text with the address of an apartment that was close to NASA, and they immediately called the seller and drove over to see it. Now, Mark and Chris were standing in a one bed, one bath apartment that was 800 square-feet, and only a ten-minute drive to NASA. It was the best place they'd seen all day, and at this point, Mark just wanted to sign the papers and get the keys. He didn't need anything fancy, and this place was perfect. Carpeted floors, with tile in the kitchen and bathroom, a decently sized bedroom, and a spacious living room with three windows, letting light flood the space.

"Honestly, I think this is the best place we're gonna find." Mark completely agreed with him, he wanted this apartment, wanted a place to call his own. Just the thought of it made him feel closer to being able to move past the trauma that came from being alone on Mars.

"So, what do you think?" They were pulled from their conversation; the owner, Mr. Walker, having reappeared from the hall outside the front door.

Mark gave the man a smile. "I'll take it."

"Fantastic!" The older gentleman clapped his hands together, reaching into his briefcase and pulling out a copy of the lease. "The rent is nine hundred, with a security deposit of seven hundred. And you pay for water and electricity, I cover the rest. Oh, and we do allow pets, but they have to be preapproved and there's an additional fee per animal, and cost varies by breed, if it's a dog."

"Well, I don't have any pets, so no problems there. This place is great, how soon can I move in?" Mr. Walker flipped through the papers, double checking the dates before responding.

"Well according to this, all the rooms have been painted and appliances have been checked and upgraded since the previous tenant moved, so it's available right now." Mark turned to Chris, holding two thumbs up at him in happiness, before he turned his attention back to his new landlord. "Whenever you'd like to move in is up to you, as soon as you sign this the apartment is yours. How are you paying?"

"With a check, if that's alright."

"Perfectly fine!" He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the blank check he'd brought along just in case they found a place. He asked Mr. Walker for a pen, and as soon as the man handed him one, he signed it for $1,600, and passed it back to him.

"So, I can move in whenever I'd like, then?" The older man confirmed that he could, and Mark looked at Beck, silently asking how soon they could get all his furniture here from the storage unit.

"We could probably try to get Martinez and Vogel in town next weekend to move the heavy stuff."

Mr. Walker interjected himself into the conversation, "You can decide for yourself, I trust that this check won't be void?" Mark informed him that it wouldn't, "Then, here are the keys. Call it intuition, but I somehow had a feeling that you'd be the one to rent the place, knew it from the moment I got the phone call!" All the men laughed, with Chris and Mark thanking him a dozen times. "You move in whenever is convenient for you, just give me a call when you're all settled so I can make a note of it on the lease. If you'll both excuse me then, I have plans with my wife, and she may just kill me if I'm late!"

They followed him out the door, Mark locking it behind them with his new keys, feeling a small sense of accomplishment at finally having his own place again. They said their goodbyes to Mr. Walker, and headed to Mark's car.

"I bet you're feeling pretty stoked right about now." He laughed, nodding his head as he turned on the car, blasting the A/C.

"You bet your ass I am. How soon can we get my shit in a moving van?"

"I'll call Martinez tonight, and have Beth call Lewis and see if she'd be willing to rope Robert into helping us." Mark liked that idea, he hadn't seen Robert Lewis since before they launched the Hermes into space, before all the shit hit the fan. "We could try Vogel, but I'm not sure when he and his family are returning to Germany. Did you have anybody else you wanted to ask for help?" His mind instantly thought of one person, but he wasn't sure if it'd be weird to ask her or not.

Mark had, in fact, managed to get Mindy's number a few nights ago when they had gone out to breakfast after her shift, and they had been texting each other periodically. Never anything serious; Mark would send her goofy messages during her shifts, and she would respond with how much he was distracting her, but it never stopped her from replying. He smiled, mostly to himself, when he thought of the conversation that had occurred.

 _"So those emails were probably the highlight of my shift," Mindy said to him, their waitress having just left after taking their orders, "so, thanks for that."_

 _Mark offered his customary lopsided grin, "Happy to be of service. I have to agree though; your responses were the perfect balance of snarky and intellectual."_

 _She snorted into her coffee mug, the liquid going up her throat instead of down, causing her to cough._

 _"Woah, you okay?" He immediately began offering her napkins, a couple of which she grabbed, nodding her head._

 _"All good, just went down the wrong pipe." She coughed a few more times, then once more to clear her throat, her cheeks bright red, equal parts from hacking up a lung and blushing in embarrassment. Why did she seem so good at making an ass of herself?_

 _"You sure you're alright? Your face is really red."_

 _Mindy rolled her eyes, annoyed at her emotions always being a dead giveaway, "Red from embarrassment, but other than that I'm fine." Mark chuckled, he loved conversations with this woman. They were always entertaining, and he couldn't seem to find a single thing about Mindy Park that he didn't like. He never wanted their time together to end, appreciating her humble nature and intelligence._

 _"I had a thought."_

 _"Oh no."_

 _"I swear it's a good one this time!"_ _As someone who had watched every move Mark made, and every stupid decision he did out of smartass-ism, she gave a small groan, knowing this may very-well_ _ **not**_ _be a good thought._

 _"And what is it?"_

 _"We should exchange numbers, then I can be the highlight of your whole day, instead of your whole shift." Mindy laughed, shaking her head at his antics._

 _"I don't know if that's a good idea."_

 _"Why not?"_

 _She gave him an incredulous look. "Do I seriously need to answer that?" When he looked at her expectantly, she sighed. "Because you're Mark Watney. I'm just a chick who works in SatCom. If Annie or somebody higher up found out that we were friends, I get the feeling it'd be a shit show...for me, more than you."_

 _Mark 'pffted' at her, shrugging off her concerns. "Yeah, I'm Mark Watney. And you're Mindy Park, my_ _ **friend**_ _. We're_ _ **friends**_ _. And, like most friends do," he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, opening up a 'New Contact' tab, before setting it in front of her, "we should talk more."_

 _Mindy felt a small smile growing on her face, looking away from him to reach into her bag for her own phone, repeating his actions, before she entered her name and number into his._

 _"Well then, I guess it's official." He said with a victorious grin, "We're friends." She couldn't prevent the smile on her face._

 _"I guess we are."_

"Yo, Earth to Mark?" Beck was waving his hand in front of Mark's face, finally shaking him from his trance. They were still sitting outside of the apartment building, the car running.

"Sorry, what?"

Beck studied his face, wondering what had just transpired in his mind. "I asked if you had anybody else that could help get you moved in, then you faded into your own little world."

Mark ran his hand through his hair, slightly embarrassed. "My bad. I know one person, but it's kinda last minute, so she might already be busy."

His friend's grin suddenly grew sly, and Mark had a feeling he'd regret even mentioning his newest friend. " _She_ might be busy, huh?" He groaned, rolling his eyes at Beck. "Oh, no. I _deserve_ the chance to antagonize you over this. You gave me and Beth so much shit about being together! Although…" Beck gave a soft laugh, growing sentimental, "…you really gave me the push I needed to confront her. So, thanks for that, I guess."

Mark looked at him, before turning his eyes back to the road ahead. "I didn't do that much. I think Lewis did the best thing for you guys, forcing you both to share a room because your…'escapades'," laughing at his own joke, he continued. "-weren't as secret as you both seemed to think."

"Anyway!" Beck interrupted, wanting to steer the conversation as far from him as possible. "Tell me about _her_. Like, maybe her actual name, for starters."

"Her name is Mindy."

"AND?"

Mark sighed, suddenly feeling like _not_ talking about himself, for a change. " _And_ …she works for NASA in Mission Control." Beck stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "I met her by accident a couple weeks ago. We started talking and I liked her, so I got her number. That's all there is to it, really." Mark wasn't fooling him, he knew there was more to the story than that, but he let it slide for now.

They let the conversation drift to different topics, occasionally mentioning things they'd probably need for the move in a week's time. While Beck hadn't forgotten about Mark brushing off the topic of Mindy, he knew he'd find out, given enough time, because they were still friends, and he would tell him eventually. The day ended with Mark dropping Beck off at his and Johanssen's new place, turning him down on his invitation to come inside and hang out for a bit, but thanking him profusely for helping him. They bid farewell and Mark left, heading back to his hotel for a night of packing and organizing. While he drove, he decided to call Mindy.

The phone rang for one beat, then two, before her voice came through.

"Hello?"

"Hey there, space stalker."

"Watney?"

"The one and only!" He paused for a moment. "Well, my parents are also 'Watney'…but I'm the legendary one!" He smiled to himself when she started laughing.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night. What's up?" Mark finally reminded himself that he'd called her for a reason.

"I just signed the lease for a new apartment." He said with a grin.

She gasped in surprise, immediately responding, "That's great! Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Min." Mindy blushed on the other end of the line, not used to the nicknames from him.

"I was also calling to see if you were free next weekend to help me move? Beck and the others will be there too, but I figured after all is said and done I could order pizza and grab some beer to celebrate." She flinched, instantly feeling regret.

"I'm so sorry, Mark." She hesitated, the guilt at having to say 'no' already building. "I'm actually going to be out of town next weekend. My Mom has been bugging me for awhile to go and visit her and my Dad in Missouri, and I finally broke down and agreed."

Mark tried not to feel too disappointed, even though he would have loved her company throughout the stress-filled day, he knew she had a life besides the time spent with him.

"Don't stress about it, it's super last minute so I really wasn't expecting you to be free." They both grew silent for a few moments, his attention drawn back to the phone when he heard Mindy take a deep breath.

"How about as soon as I get back in town, we get takeout and drinks…we can celebrate at your new place? My treat." He smirked, still a little disappointed, but feeling rejuvenated at her suggestion.

"Sounds perfect."


	7. Chapter 7

On a rare occurrence, Mindy will work a double-shift, which usually included her normal graveyard hours, and a morning shift. Today was one of those days. She was trying to stockpile some time so that she wouldn't be stressing about her job while she was away visiting her parents.

Mindy was about two hours into her double, when Mr. Kapoor wandered into Mission Control. His eyes scanned the room, looking for Mindy. When he spotted her, he made his way to her desk, a couple manila folders in the crook of his arm. She gave him a small smile in greeting, one he easily returned.

"Have some jobs for you," Vincent said as he waved the folders at her, "figured I may as well bring them to you, rather than send you ten different emails." Mindy nodded, fighting back a yawn.

"You okay?" He asked, noticing the slight bags under her eyes.

"Yeah, just a little tired. I've been working double shifts to make up for the weekend I took off." Vincent gave her a concerned look.

"Mindy, you only took off three days, that hardly constitutes working even one double shift. How many have you done?" She gave him a sheepish look and shrugged her shoulders, looking back towards the computer screen in front of her before answering.

"This is my third one this week." She responded, another yawn taking over. Vincent gave her a stern glare, which Mindy completely disregarded.

"No more after this one, or else I'll force you to take an extra couple days off to get some rest."

"Okay _Dad_." Vincent rolled his eyes at her, even if she was incredibly smart and dedicated to her job, the girl just didn't know when to quit.

"I mean it, Mindy. You're just going to exhaust yourself." He explained, so she'd know he was just looking out for her, as her friend rather than her boss. Mindy gave him a smile.

"I know, I know. Thanks for caring. Can I have those folders now?" Vincent nodded his head, but just when she was about to take them, he pulled them just out of her reach.

"Before I give these to you, tell me, how'd breakfast go with Watney?" She felt her jaw drop.

"How did you know about that?" He smirked, shrugging his shoulders.

"I have my sources. Answer the question."

Mindy could feel the blush rising on her face. "It was…fine." Vincent gave her a dubious expression.

"Just _fine_?" She internally groaned, the last thing she wanted to deal with was being interrogated by Kapoor. _Especially_ if that interrogation was about a certain blue-eyed astronaut.

"Why do you need to know?" Vincent gave her smirk before responding.

"Why wouldn't I need to know?"

"Why do you?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Are we seriously doing this?"

"Yep."

This time, Mindy actually groaned, putting her head in her hands and rubbing her face, already feeling a migraine in the form of Vincent Kapoor. Damn this nosey man.

"I got an email from him, which by the way, he ratted you out as being the one he got it from," Vincent gave an indifferent shrug, waiting for her to continue, "and we talked back and forth for a while, and when I was getting ready to leave he showed up, offered to take me to breakfast. I was going to say no, but I was hungry and decided 'what the hell?' We went to breakfast, talked, and that's it." She fanned her hands out in a gesture to show there was nothing else to the story.

"That's it?" He asked, a look of doubt on his face.

"That's _it_." Mindy stared him dead in the eye, daring him to question her. Vincent gave a small chuckle, handing her the small stack of folders.

"Alright, I get it. Not my business." She released a small breath of relief, giving him a nod in thanks for dropping the subject. Before he left, Vincent gestured to the stack of folders, "Let me know if you have any questions on anything. Don't stress about finishing them before the weekend either, there's no rush."

"Okay, thanks. When do you want them done by?" Mindy asked, opening the top one to glance at the first page.

"End of the month sound good?" She agreed, flipping through a couple more pages to get an idea of what he wanted done. Vincent glanced down at his watch, noting the time before moving to leave. "Alright, I'm going to head home. Again, if you have any questions, just let me know. Thanks Mindy." Mindy smiled at him.

"Drive safe, Vince." He nodded his response.

"Will do. Don't overwork yourself Mindy." Mindy just snorted and waved him off, turning back to her computer screen. She vaguely registered him saying goodnight to some others in Mission Control as he walked away, but she quickly drowned out her surroundings, solely focusing on the screen in front of her.

She would listen to him about the double shifts, not that she'd admit it to him or anybody else, but she was completely exhausted. She could already tell it was going to be a long night.


	8. Chapter 8

"Good morning, sweetie. Did you and Zeus sleep alright?" Mindy had just shuffled out of the guest room, hair a mess and wearing an oversized NASA sweatshirt with shorts and her favorite wool socks, Zeus trailing behind her with a lazy swish of his tail. She had gotten to her parents' house in the wee-hours of the morning, and immediately passed out after letting herself in and leaving a note for them on the counter, letting them know she'd arrived and had gone straight to bed. She yawned, sitting down at the kitchen table and nodding her head.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't say hi when I got here, didn't wanna wake you guys up." Her Mother, whose name was Sandra, by the way; waved her off and turned back to the frying pan on the stove.

"Don't worry about it, I'm just happy you made it here in one piece." Sandra gave her only-child a warm smile. "Hungry? I'm making eggs and sausage. Can do toast, too, if you like."

"Yes, please. Do you need any help?"

"No, no. You just sit there, sweetie. Tell me about your drive." Mindy smiled at her Mother's back, only just realizing how much she'd missed her presence. She combed Zeus' soft fur with her fingers, who had jumped onto her lap.

"It was fine, made pretty good time, only stopped twice for gas." She thought to herself for a moment, "Only reason I got here so late was because I waited until the last minute to pack and had to finish some stuff at work."

"Oh, Mindy. You work way too much!" And here comes the eye-rolling! "Don't roll your eyes at me. It's the truth, you're too young to be working so much."

"Mom, I'm thirty. Technically, I'm at the best age to work a lot!" The look Sandra gave her was not amused.

"Sweetie, I just want you to think of yourself more, that's all." She turned the stove off and moved the pan off the hot burner. "Grab some plates, please?" Mindy immediately stood up, reaching into the cupboard beside the fridge.

"Mom, I think of myself plenty." She said while her Mom put scrambled eggs and sausages on the two plates.

"Sure, you do, sweetheart."

"I do!"

"Mhmmm." Mindy gave her an exasperated look, even though her Mother wasn't looking at her. "Oh, coffee! Did you want coffee, sweetie?"

"Yeah, I'll get it. Do you want a refill?" She gestured to the empty mug sitting beside the stove while she reached into the cupboard again, this time for a mug.

"Please, dear." She filled the mugs accordingly, meeting her Mother back at the kitchen table, where two plates of hot food sat waiting. "Did you want toast or anything?" Mindy shook her head 'no', this was more than enough for her.

"Where's Dad? I thought he'd be up by now." Sandra rolled her eyes, waving her off.

"Oh, he got called in at the factory this morning. They needed him to do some weird…tech-y thing." Mindy smirked, her Mother had never been big on technology, only ever bothering with the basics. Her father, Michael Park, had worked at the same factory for longer than she'd been alive, and it wasn't unusual for him to be called-in on a weekend at the last second. "He should be back by the afternoon."

They ate in silence for a few moments, Zeus meowing at them from the floor, wanting a bite of whatever they had. Mindy was just offering him a tiny piece of sausage when her Mother spoke again.

"So, Mindy," Sandra started, "has anything interesting happened recently?" She watched her daughter over the edge of her coffee cup, awaiting her response.

"Uh…interesting?" She suddenly found her plate of food more fascinating than making eye contact. "Nope…not really."

Of course, Sandra didn't believe her. She knew her daughter better than anybody, it was obvious when she was lying, she was terrible at it. Though, for now, she let the topic change.

"Did you know Holt is getting married next winter?" Mindy froze midbite, not expecting the conversation to shift _that_ drastically. She wasn't entirely sure how to respond, so she set her fork down and reached her coffee before finally being able to form any coherent words.

"What?" Well, coherent WORD.

"Apparently he's marrying a girl he met while he was away for school. I ran into his Mother at the store a couple weeks ago, she told me she's a very sweet girl, but not as sweet as you were." Mindy could feel her heart stilling at the news, still not quite certain of how to react.

 _Holt was getting married?_

For those of you who are wondering, Holt would be Mindy's ex-boyfriend from high school and part of college. The cause of their break-up? Holt's infidelity, which would be why Mindy was so shocked to hear he was _actually_ settling down. Surprisingly though, she didn't feel upset. The only thing she felt was indifference, and that in-turn made her feel relieved.

"That's honestly…great." Sandra seemed slightly surprised by her reaction, "Really, I'm happy for him. Never thought _he'd_ settle down, but to each their own." Her Mother studied her for a moment.

"And you're okay with that, dear?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Sandra shrugged at Mindy. "Mom, we broke up _years_ ago. Don't be so surprised. I moved on, and so did he. I wish him the best."

"If you say so, I trust your judgement. I just wanted you to hear it from me and not some random person." Mindy gave her a soft smile, letting her know that it was appreciated. They drifted from the slightly uncomfortable topic, Sandra asking Mindy about work, Mindy asking her about her Dad's upcoming birthday. Zeus sat on the floor, still meowing occasionally, begging for a piece of food from either woman. Sandra decided to shift the conversation back to Mindy.

"So, nothing else new to share with your dear, old Momma?" A pair of blue eyes popped into Mindy's mind, and she could feel the heat rise in her face.

"Nope. Not a single thing." Mindy hurriedly finished her plate of food, knowing her Mother could sense when she was fibbing.

"Mindy, don't eat so fast, you'll make yourself sick!"

She shrugged her shoulders, not bothering to respond. Empty plate in hand, she stood and walked to the sink, rinsing it and her coffee mug, setting them inside the dishwasher.

"Thanks for breakfast Mom, I'm gonna grab a shower now." She kissed her Mother on the head, running from the room, Zeus staying behind, still wanting to be given food.

Sandra looked down at the flame-tipped Himalayan cat, blue eyes meeting green.

"You know she's hiding something, don't you, Zeus?" As if he understood every word, he blinked at her and swished his tail. Sandra leaned her elbows on the table, coffee cup in hand with a knowing smile. "She'll tell me eventually, she always does."

~o.o~o.o~

Mindy had closed the door to the guest room and was leaning against the back of it. She could hear her Mother's muffled voice talking to Zeus, but couldn't identify the words.

"Something interesting, huh?" She muttered to herself, the smirking face of somebody instantly popping into her mind. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the thought.

"Whatever." Grabbing her toiletries bag, she made her way to the guest bathroom, turning on the shower, giving it a few minutes to warm up before stripping out of her pajamas and stepping under the hot spray. She didn't want to take too long, so she scrubbed her body and washed her hair quickly, not bothering to shave because, seriously, who did she have to impress? Zeus? If she could deal with how hairy he was, he could do the same.

Once Mindy had towel-dried herself, she threw on her underwear and a bra, pulled on an old pair of jeans and a gray, long-sleeved shirt. She combed her hair and left it to air dry, feeling lazier than normal. When she finished, she put her glasses back on her face and walked out of the guestroom, trying to locate her Mom.

Hearing the television, Mindy made her way towards the living room, spotting her Mom lounging on the couch, Zeus curled up beside her. Sandra gave her daughter a warm smile, patting the empty space beside her. Mindy walked over and sat down, tucking her feet under her and leaning onto to the throw pillows.

"What are we watching?" Mindy's Mom snorted, passing her the remote with a roll of her eyes.

"Hell if I know. There's so much junk on TV nowadays." She laughed at her Mother, taking the TV remote and flipping through the channels, before settling on a movie channel that was showing Forrest Gump.

"Oh, I haven't seen this in forever." Sandra gave her an incredulous gaze, and Mindy stared back, "What?"

"Mindy, you always cry when you watch this movie."

"Pffft, what? Do not." Her Mother only hummed a response, knowing from experience when to choose her battles, even if she was right. Though Mindy would never tell her that.

They watched the opening sequence, listening to Forrest narrate his childhood and his first pair of shoes, when Mindy thought back to their conversation at breakfast. She felt a smidge of guilt over not telling her Mom about Mark. Why hadn't she said anything? It's not like she has many friends that she can gossip with about the Martian-man. She glanced over at her Mom, who was engrossed in the TV, watching Forrest run across the football field and away from the bullies.

Mindy took a deep breath before deciding to speak.

"So…" she started, drawing Sandra's attention to her, "…I uh…actually did have an interesting day a couple weeks ago." Her Mother raised a brow, knowing there was more. "Okay, a couple interesting days."

"Do tell." Prompted to continue, Mindy told her about meeting Mark Watney, the conversations they've had, his surprise visit to her during her shift, their breakfast, and the few phone calls they've shared. Her Mother listened to every word, not interrupting once.

"You're friends with Mark Watney, now?" Mindy shrugged her shoulders.

"I mean, I guess we are. I can't say I dislike his company…honestly it's the opposite."

"What do you mean?"

"I love talking to him, Mom." Sandra nodded in understanding, and Mindy continued, "He's really funny, and he's so smart. We get along really well too, which surprises the hell outta me."

"Why is that surprising?" She looked at her Mom like that should be obvious, even though it clearly was not.

"Because he's _Mark Watney_. He survived on Mars and was able to make it back here, all because of how incredibly smart he is. He's done all these amazing things and I just feel like we're leagues apart." Sandra snorted, her daughter was so full of shit.

"Mindy, I love you, but don't be an idiot." At her offended look, Sandra elaborated what she meant. "YOU are incredibly smart, and why wouldn't he enjoy your company? You're Mindy Park, what's not to like? Hm?" Mindy didn't have an answer, not wanting to insult her Mom with a reply, which would most likely be negative. "Sweetie, you're a wonderful young woman. You're intelligent, beautiful, you have so many good qualities, it'd be surprising if you and Mark Watney _didn't_ get along. Don't be so self-conscious, it'll only hinder you two's friendship, and you don't want that happening, I'm sure."

"No, you're right."

"Of course I am, I'm your Mother." Mindy laughed at the typical response, feeling much better, and not as filled with self-doubt as she had been. "Now, watch the movie dear. You're the one who chose it. I won't say 'I told you so' when you cry, though." Sandra gave her a comforting smile, one that Mindy happily returned, and they focused their attentions back to the TV, seeing Forrest graduate college. They watched the entire thing, a box of tissues on the coffee table as the ending neared. And you know what?

Sandra was right.

And you'd never hear Mindy say it out loud, but that was okay with her.


End file.
